Redemption
by Henneth Laer
Summary: Castiel has fallen. However, another angel, Esther, shares his fate. Will she and Castiel manage to get their Grace back? And will Esther help Team Free Will with their little Apocalypse problem? Possible Cas/OC in later chapters. I suck at summaries.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: **Sadly, I do not own Supernatural (Castiel, The Winchesters, etc.). Their infinite awesomeness is only (C) to Eric Kripke. But, however, my OC Esther is included in this.

R&R pls.

**Prologue**

The first thing that hit her mind was the drums.

They weren't just throbbing, or slightly hitting. They were pounding on her skull, as if something was trying to break in, make its way inside her brain and brand it. What? Where? Who? She couldn't even open her mouth and speak, the throbbing, the terrible, terrible banging, it was so loud, that she had to put her hands to her ears in agony.

"Please", she cried, "make it stop. Make. It. Stop."

But it wouldn't. That overwhelming rhythm, it filled her brain, making her jerk and twitch at all sides. She couldn't handle it. It was so dark around her. So compressed. What? What had happened? The last thing that she could remember was … Zachariah. Oh Lord, Zachariah, that terrible look in his eyes, the hand that reached for her, and then … blank.

_You failed us. _His voice echoed in her head, loud as sirens. _You failed. You did not complete the task. You failed. And now, you shall fall._

"No. No. No. Anything but that. No.", she thought. Then another thought crossed her mind – it's too late for that now. Way too late.

As she could feel her Grace being taken away from her, the drums got louder, and suddenly she started to free fall, down, colors of all sorts flew through her, as if the whole universe had just flown into a spoon and injected itself into her eyeballs, for a minute, she could see all the shades of the world around, above and below her. The drums had suddenly died out, to a fairly unrecognizable sound, that just kept reminding of itself somewhere in the back of her head.

"Does it always feel like this when you fall?", she thought in disbelief. She was actually _liking_ the experience, God save her soul. "Did Lucifer feel like this when he fell? Did …?"

She felt the drums quicken and get louder, but she couldn't understand why they did this. Did … did the thought trigger it?

"… did _he _feel like this?"

All fear, doubt and pain, that she was feeling right now, all the shame from what Zachariah had told her, all the guilt was replaced by one single, yet so powerful thought, so insignificant to others, still so strong for her.

_I am going to see him again._

Even though the fury of the universe was all around her, she still managed to smile. But then, suddenly, pain made it's way to her. She let out a piercing scream, because she felt as if a giant ball was on her back and it was digging and digging it's way through her flesh. It was too late, when the actual events hit her.

Her wings. They were ripping off her wings.

Feather by feather, each one going off with an enormous amount of pain, her most precious thing was slowly taken away from her.

And right there, she swore. She swore to Heaven, Hell, God, the Devil, whoever was listening, she made a vow, that she never forgot.

_I will get my atonement, and then all of you will suffer._


	2. Go back to sleep

**Author's notes: **Yay! Thank you for the reviews on the prologue, guys. You've made this wannabe writer very, very, VERY happy.

So, this site has been giving me some problems, which is why I'm not so sure when or in what period of time I'll be able to update. Here's a chapter for you, which I hope will be enough until I come back from my holiday on Sunday. R&R! Cas & the Winchesters want you to!

**I**

**Go back to sleep**

_Lafayette, Indiana._

_1 week later._

"Come on, Sammy! Less hangin' around and more salt-and-burnin'!" Dean managed to shout out, while blasting two ghosts with rock salt. At first they had thought it would be one of those 'go-and-shoot-em-all' hunts, like the other ones Bobby has been sending them to. But this was slightly different. For one, they hadn't expected more than three ghosts, four at the most. Turned out, the place used to belong to some religious freak, Ravenwood, who he made human sacrifices, then stored his victim's bones in a secret space in his attic. When the brothers had admitted, that this was too freaky even for them, sixteen ghosts had attacked them out of nowhere. Sixteen bloodthirsty and hungry for revenge ghosts. Which, in most cases, was not of the best combinations.

Now Dean had himself going in circles, wondering where the blasted things would come from. He heard a screeching noise behind him, but his fast reflexes helped him to spin around quickly enough to blast the thing. Suddenly, a heavy iron stick was pushed directly onto his throat. The hunter felt terrible stench from behind him and struggled with the ghost for air. From all he could see, the two hands holding the stick were heavily decorated with burns and bruises. Dean was finding it hard to breathe already, his vision getting blurred, as he was losing more and more air, struggling with the creature. More of them were coming his way – he saw them, some as silhouettes, other were just like people, only that they were … well, freaks. They looked at him with their white eyes, clenching their teeth. In front of them was a man with beard and a crucifix around his neck, who Dean recognized as Ravenwood.

"You shall go to the gods now. This is what they desire." Said the ghostly figure in front of him.

"Screw you!"

The old man didn't pay him any attention, but got out a dagger, which looked like it was pretty sharp. Dean wasn't really willing to test that. Ravenwood was just about to make his hit, when he bursted in flames, screaming his ghostly lungs out. With sixteen fires, the room lit up like a golden temple, then suddenly everything was quiet again. Sam ran down from the attic, shocked to find his brother on the ground, still trying to catch his breath.

"Dean! Are you okay?"

"About time, princess!" the elder Winchester croaked. Sam smiled. If Dean was insulting him, then everything was okay. "What the hell took you so long?"

"I had to deal with my own bunch of ghosts up there. But suddenly, they disappeared, that was when I was finally able to find the bones."

"Yeah, that might have been because they were trying to make themselves a Winchester-on-a-stick." Dean murmured. "Come on, let's go back to the motel. I could sure hit a whiskey. Or five."

When they were back at the motel, Sam was quite fast asleep. Dean let out a sigh of relief, as he watched him so relaxed and comfortable. He hadn't seen him like that for quite a lot time. With all that stuff going on, Lucifer, Michael, the Apocalypse, and the unstoppable guilt that Sam felt almost 80% of his time … Dean felt as if he was just existing his way through life, with all those senseless hunts they were doing, the lack of signs, pointing to Lucifer's direction, as if something was waiting. Waiting to be unleashed. But what?

A silent, almost out of hearing range knock on the door interrupted the hunter's thoughts. He immediately sprang to his feet, his ankle knife in his hands, eyes and mind completely awake. It was a rare thing that they had any visitors. Especially ones who used doors.

He carefully approached the door. The knock repeated, a little louder and more insistent.

"Who is it?"

A pause, and then, a familiar voice came very faintly from the other side.

"It's me, Dean."

The elder Winchester lowered his knife. He knew this voice, this deep, almost hustling and whispering baritone.

"Cas? Do … Do you know what time is it?" Actually, the question he was going to ask was 'since when do you use doors?'

"Yes, I am very aware of that, Dean. Please, let me in."

The hunter opened the door and got himself standing right against the angel's sapphire eyes. He was slightly groggy, finding it hard to stand on his feet, dark blue-dark-ish circles under his eyes.

"You look like horse shit, Cas." Dean exclaimed. Castiel looked at him questioningly, with his usual head tilt.

"Are you impliying, that I look to you like the excrements of a – "

"Never mind. What happened to you?" he asked, but then the answer came itself, when Castiel staggered against the wall. "Have you been drinking … again?"

"I … " the angel stared straight ahead, avoiding Dean's critical stare. " … yes. You don't understand, Dean."

"Then explain it to me, goddamit, not to the liquor bottle."

"The angels. They have … taken my Grace away from me."

Dean stared at him in disbelief.

"Whoa, hold on a minute. Does this mean that you're now human?"

Castiel thought on it for a minute

"No. I would not regard it that way."

"Then how –"

"I feel … crippled, in some way. I guess it's similar to the human feeling of losing your leg. And my wings," a hint of fear found it's way into the angel's voice. This shocked Dean, given how rare Castiel showed any emotions at all "Dean, I think they're gone."

"Gone? What, like vanished?"

"No."

He didn't continue and Dean got slightly furious.

"Cas, we've talked about this. Elaborating, please?"

Castiel scratched the back of his head. How could he possibly explain to a human what falling feels like? He has felt it. Even though he didn't know what it was in the first place, it had hit him, first the compressing dark, the heartbeats, that grew louder and louder, then all the colors of the world and the universe. And finally the pain. The pain that could not be compared to anything else, like having a limb torn apart piece by piece. Of having your wings forced out of your back. Probably the biggest pain he has felt in his almost a millennia of lifetime.

"It is hard to explain."  
Dean's eyelids were starting to close by themselves. And he wasn't in the mood for any of the angel's riddles.

"I'm going to bed, Cas. Do you need to –"

"No, thanks, I'll just sit here and be quiet."

Castiel sat on the dusty and almost disintegrated coach like a punished child. The hunter didn't doubt for a minute that he would sit there whole night and tried to ignore him, as he drifted off to a tired and dreamless sleep.

It was about two hours since they've talked, when Castiel felt it. Deep inside the back of his pounding mind, he saw darkness, then colors running quickly, like watercolors splashed on a grey-blue sheet of paper, then dark again, a flash of pain and everything was gone. He wondered what that was. It was common that he'd get some sort of heavenly visions, but this was before he fell. Before he had rebelled. Now they wouldn't contact him, even if Hell was freezing over. Suddenly, his vision blacked out, and he heard a whisper, as light as the wind, faint, but still there.

_Come to me._

_Who are you? _He tried to channel all of his remaining energy in the question. _What do you want?_

_Come to me. As I shall come to you._

Before the angel could ask what, in the name of Heaven, was happening, the connection died out, the feelings stopped, he was in the motel room again, with Dean snoring lightly on one of the beds and Sam breathing steadily on the other. Cas had a bad feeling about this. He just knew something was going to happen. Something not entirely positive.

Suddenly, the room was showered in light. The unexpected change made Castiel's eyes hurt and immediately woke Sam and Dean up.

"Cas, turn out the goddamn lights." Mumbled Dean into his pillow.

"I haven't –"  
"Castiel?" The younger Winchester interrupted, looking at him. "Are you – "

"Yes, Sam, I am okay." Said Cas matter-of-factly as he was staring through the window. "Can you see that light?"

"Yeah." Sam also tried to look at the window, but his eyes started to hurt and he had to look away "It's different than normal light, it's …"

"Pure white."

They stared at each other, slowly starting to understand what all this meant.

"Won't somebody turn the friggin lights out already?" Dean shouted angrily from somewhere underneath the pillows.  
"Dean, you have to see this."

The hunter rose, as he heard his brother's worried voice, all the sleep gone from his eyes, as he approached the window.

"Cas …"

"Yes, Dean?"

" Do you, by any chance, expect any family visits?"

" I –"

But he didn't manage to answer, as something, very similar to a meteorite, crashed in front of their motel.

"Oh my God." Sam breathed, his eyes widened.

"Yeah, and it always has to be our motel, doesn't it." Dean grunted.

As the three of them ran out, they noticed where the odd thing has crashed. Strangest thing was, though, that none of the other guests of the motel seemed to notice what had happened. This meant that either the Winchesters and Cas were finally losing it, or it was something that was meant only for them to see.

As they approached the crash site, they were not even slightly prepared for what they were about to see.

On the ground, in the hole dug in by the fallen meteorite, lay a woman.

"Son of a bitch-" Dean swore, as he saw the almost broken figure.

"What the –" Sam's river of words seemed to have dried out for a minute. "Castiel, do you –"

But the angel did not reply. He was staring at the crater, wondering if he was dreaming, or if he had just drank too much. But, no. It was real. _She _was real.

"Cas?" he heard Dean's voice calling, sounding as if it was so far okay "What's wrong?"

"S-She … she's an angel."

Not just an angel. It was probably the most dangerous and fiercely powerful angel he had known. What was she doing here? Castiel heard her name, sounding as an almost-forgotten memory from some other life.

_Esther. _

~.~

Ok, I know there's not much info in this chap, but I promise, more of Esther, her, herself and what she is will be revealed in the next one. I hoped you liked it and thanks for reading. 3


	3. Resolves and executes

**Author's notes: **I am really, really sorry for the late update, guys. My internet connection has been dead for a while. But I'm back now, and here's the next chapter, in which some more of Esther's identity will be revealed. Is it what you expected? Is it not? Thank you for the wonderful reviews you've been writing, they are the thing that make me go on! R&R again!

**II**

**Resolves and executes**

'I still don't get it.' Dean said for probably the hundredth time, staring at the woman, who was now lying on his bed. Yes, the same bed he has been sleeping in just about twenty minutes ago. Now, what did the universe had against him getting some rest? This was a question he was still searching the answer for.

'That's no surprise to anyone.' Sam noticed.

'Bite me, bitch.'

'You fir-'

'This is not the time for your quarrels.' Castiel interrupted. He, Dean had noticed, was behaving really oddly ever since they had found the woman. He seemed to have sobered in a matter of seconds, eyes fixed on the body lying in front of them, still unconscious. Sam had checked on her pulse and claimed that it was weak, but she was alive. Now they just had to wait for her to wake up.

'Look at you, captain Grumpy!' Dean exclaimed, 'What happened, Cas? Did she always get the bigger cookie or something?'

'When will you stop acting like an infant?' the former angel asked with a clenched jaw. Even Dean leaned back, devastated from the anger in his voice.

'Castiel, who is she?' Sam asked carefully.

The blue eyes, not even blinking, kept staring at the woman, as Cas began to speak.

'Her name is Esther. Years, many years ago, we used to fight alongside each other. She was … I have never seen an angel with such wrath, fierce and … hatred in themselves. Later on, all of this started to reflect on her. I –' Castiel choked on his words, as if the memory still pained him. 'I had to report her to Zachariah. She was beginning to get too emotional, gathered too much dark energy. This was a doorway to doubt. To betrayal. Since then, she was being held in Heaven, in something like an equivalent to your prisons. The same place I was the last time I was dragged out of my vessel.' The former angel's eyes went darker, as if someone had shut invisible doors in front of him. 'That was the last time I saw her. I have not heard anything of Esther since.'

After he stopped talking, the three men sunk in to deafening silence, the Winchesters still trying to assimilate what they've just heard.

'I don't understand.' Dean said at last, 'Why did you react like this when you saw her? I mean, she is probably all furious at Zachariah and all the other angel pricks and hates them in the guts for having her closed up. That's a good thing, right?'

'You're missing the point, Dean.' Castiel said impatiently. 'I barely withstood three days in Heaven's prison without going insane. I do not know how she will act or even talk when she wakes up. She has been there the last one hundred years.'

'A hundred – she's been there for a whole fucking _century_?"

'Cas … when she wakes up, won't she want to … you know … smite you?' Sam asked awkwardly. 'I mean, dude, she probably hates your guts as well.'

'Yes, Esther made that quite clear the last time we met' said Cas bluntly. 'Now, however, things are different. She has also fallen and, probably, we will be able to talk her into fighting alongside us in the upcoming apocalypse.'

'Dude, have you lost your mind?' Dean almost screamed. He was getting pretty tired from everything, and now Cas was going all I-believe-theres-more-good-in-this-world like. The hunter couldn't take this over only two hours of sleep. 'You just said she is one of the most dangerous and dark angels that you've ever met, which makes her close to old Lucy's caliber, and now you want to talk her into siding with us?'

'We can't know anything of what she thinks and wants, not until she wakes up.' Said the younger Winchester. 'I'm with Cas here.'

'Fine, you knuckleheads wait for the big bad Angellica to wake up, I'm gonna get me some sleep.' Dean said and crashed on Sam's bed.

'Dude, where am I going to sleep?'

'Couch is all yours, Sammy.' Mumbled his brother, already half-asleep.

Sam said nothing, as he made his way to the sorry thing he had to use as a bed, but he swore to himself, that he would get it back at Dean.

''Night, Cas."

No response came to the other man and Sam was sure, that Castiel would keep watch over Esther whole night.

**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR**

The younger Winchester's presumption turned out to be quite right. Cas _did _really stay awake. But not to watch over Esther (even though he did that too). Mostly, he used his time reminiscing and pondering himself what was it that awaited them now.

Esther was no longer an angel. He could sense that, even though he wouldn't tell it to the brothers – they were both so broken and unhappy, maybe this could bring them even a small amount of the hope they so desperately needed. Sure, there was a little bit of Grace left in her, just like there was some in himself. A small speck of light, glistering somewhere in the depths of his soul, reminding him that he was still in fact not from this world. He could see it in her too. But, she too did not have wings. They were ripped out, torn feather by feather. Just like his own were. So now, basically, they were sharing the same fate.

_But would Esther forgive me? _He thought. _But I did the right thing. I did. I did. _The ex-angel thought that maybe he should repeat this to himself, over and over, so that he may not go crazy in her presence.

Castiel didn't know if Esther had chosen her own vessel, or Zachariah had just randomly thrown her in one, but he had to admit, it suited her more than the one he had last seen her in. That one had had a way too much … _angelic _look. Definitely not like her. This one was different. The vessel didn't look more than 25, maybe 27 at the most. She had long chestnut hair, that made its way down to the elbows. She was incredibly thin – almost as if she was sick. She had always preferred such vessels, he thought. Ones that looked weaker on the exterior, as if they were to break down every moment, but from the inside, she was made of steel. He had seen that. Castiel and Esther had fought alongside each other for about fifty years. Then, Cas was still young, newly created, still confused with Earth, with his Holy Father, with the other angels. Esther, being very old and experiences, was something like his guide. That was, until she started to give herself into the darkness. After Lucifer's fall, she kept talking about how the angels have made a mistake of not using his powers, instead of banishing them for eternity. It scared the hell out of Castiel. He was unsure of what he had to do, but in the end, he made his choice and told Zachariah. Who, of course, then, when he was still faithful to God, not to destroying the world, would have never let this just slide off. Esther has been caught. And punished.

Now, so many years later, seeing her again had a rather strange effect on Castiel. Like an awakening. Like he felt the spirit of the old ages return to him, when he, she and other angels like them fought in a Holy War, where he played the role of the good soldier, while Esther was the rebel. Now, when he was basically in her shoes, he probably could understand her.

His thoughts were cut off by a voice in his head.

_Castiel._

Cas jumped up. Sam shifted a little in his sleep, but then kept on snoring. The former angel looked around himself. This wasn't Esther's voice. It wasn't, he was sure of it. But it was still familiar. Who could –

_Castiel. Find me._

_Who are you? Where are you?_

_Find me. _

Cas rushed out of the motel, slightly disturbed by having to leave the brothers alone with Esther, but he had no other choice. An angel was trying to contact him. This was almost as important as everything else. Even more.

_Where are you?_

_Woods._

The motel was situated near a forest. Of course. A pretty usual sanctuary for the angels, apart from the churches and monasteries. He ran faster and deeper in to the woods.

_Where are-_

'Hello, Castiel.'

He turned around swiftly, fist tightening around the archangel blade he still carried around with him. At least they hadn't taken that from him.

In front of Cas was a smugly man, who reminded him slightly of Crowley. He was dressed in a formal working suit, had a priggish smile on his face and his eyes were grey like the sky in a dusky morning.

'Ezekiel. I should have known.'

'How's it going, bro'? Hearing you've been having trouble with the big guys?' Ezekiel said, the grin never coming off his face.

'What do you want with me?' the other man said, clutching the blade so hard, his knuckles turned white.

'Hey, don't kill the messenger!' the angel lifted his hands in retreat 'There's no need for that blade in your pocket, now. I'm not here to hurt you.'

'And you expect me to believe you?'

'Yes, Castiel, I do. Even if you don't, I still have to tell you what you have to hear.' Ezekiel said calmly. 'I hear Esther's boat crashed near your wharf. How's our little rebel lady doing? Still unconscious I guess? Good.' He grinned when Castiel just nodded. 'Here's what I have to say. She was sent to you for a reason. Zachariah cast her out – like he should have done many years earlier. And he sent her to you – the other angel, who rebelled against him. You should have added two and two by now. What do you think?'

'What business am I supposed to have with her? I haven't seen or talked to her in ages. How am I supposed to –'

'This is none of my concern.' Ezekiel interrupted. 'Just hear me out. Esther has a leading role in this Apocalypse. Hers, yours and the Winchesters' fates are and have been bound for centuries. This was long foretold, you can ask your darling prophet if you don't believe me. Without Esther, Castiel,' the angel smiled, as if satisfied with what he was going to say 'Dean and Sam Winchester are going to say 'yes'. She is the bond that will stop them from doing it.'

'But - But this is ridiculous. It can't be. She's … she's no one, they are no one to her. Why would she –'

'Hey, bro, I'm just telling you what I heard. And risking my own freedom with it, so better savor this piece of information and cling to it for dear life.'

'But, Ezekiel, why are you doing this?'

'Oh, I don't know' he smiled again 'Probably just to throw a tee-wee more drama then there already is. Remember, Castiel. Without Esther, the world is lost. So I suggest you keep her safe.'

'Wait! What do you mean that the world is lost without her? Why – '

But even before he could finish his question, Ezekiel was gone with a flap of wings.

**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR**

**Author's notes: **I hope you liked it, thanks for reading! Reviews make me smile!

On a side note, I am working on a new fic right now, it's called **"The Witch And The Winchesters" **and chapter one will be up pretty soon, so stay tuned. Don't worry – I ain't abandoning this fic. I'll keep them both up.


	4. Awakening

**Author's notes: **Thanks for the reviews! Here's chapter three. Sorry the plot's been going kind of slowly, but some action will kick in soon, promise.

**III**

**Awakening**

_Dark. Cold. _

'_Please', she begged, even though, she didn't know who to. 'Please, let me go. Zachariah …'_

_All she heard in response was a cold laugh, and suddenly, Zachariah was standing right in front of her, dressed in his usual suit, smiling contentedly._

'_Hello, Esther.'_

'_You son of a bitch.' She cursed, 'Get out of my head.'_

'_Now, dearie, you really wouldn't want to talk to me like that.' He smirked. 'After all, don't forget I have hold of this.' He swung a glowing, vial shaped pendant in front of her face. Esther felt like she was being punched in the gut._

'_That's my –'_

'_Your Grace. Indeed. You see, I can really use your help on this one, Esther. You have proven over the years that you can be a pretty valuable and powerful ally. We merely ask of you to assist Heaven in one of its missions, that is all.'_

_She didn't say anything for a moment, just glancing at her brother, thinking hard. Sure, Zachariah hadn't taken all of her Grace – that would have been equal to dying. There was still a small, shimmering light inside of her. But this wasn't enough. And she wanted it. She wanted so much to be a part of the world again, to __finally be free of her prison, and get her revenge._

'_What do you want from me?'_

'_Oh, it's really simple, actually. Dean Winchester.'_

_Esther had never heard this name before, so she tilted her head in confusion. Zachariah sighed._

'_I forgot, you don't know. Well, the Apocalypse kind of came while you were in prison, and there's these two brothers, who are actually Michael and Lucifer's real vessels. You have to get Dean Winchester to say 'yes' to Michael. At. All. Costs.' The elder angel stated._

'_And if I refuse?'_

'_Well, you'll be stuck on earth for the rest of your days, with just that little bit of Grace to remind you who you were once. Choice is all yours, Esther. Consider it.'_

'_You cast me out.' She said, her voice cracking. 'You kicked me out of Heaven. You ripped my wings off. Why should I trust you?'_

'_Me? I did this?' Zachariah lifted his hands, portraying innocence. 'My dear, don't you remember who got you into this mess in the first place?'_

_Esther felt that same anger, hatred and darkness return to her. The same emotions she had held within her for the past century. _

'_Castiel.' She nearly spat his name out._

'_Ah, you're starting to get it.' He smiled. 'You surely know, that our loving brother also rebelled and was cast out. He will do anything he can to stop you from getting to the brothers. And here comes the second task for you. Even though he has fallen, Castiel is still an angel to some point. But hey, that never stopped you.'_

_Zachariah projected a long, shining blade from his sleeve and handed it to Esther._

'_I want him dead.'_

_She looked at the knife and her eyes followed the move of the shining blade._

'_Think about it, Esther.' Zachariah got closer to her, forcing her to look at him. 'After all these years. Revenge. Finally, revenge for the one who made you suffer for so long. What do you think?'_

_She didn't say anything, just put the blade safely hidden behind her belt. The elder angel smiled._

'_Now, that's a good soldier.'_

_That was the last thing she heard, before Zachariah disappeared with a flap of wings and darkness overcome her._

**RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR**

'Dean! Dean!'

The elder Winchester jumped out of the bed at top speed, when he heard Sam shouting his name. He saw Sam struggling with the woman they had found earlier. Apparently, she wanted to kill him and escape. Not really a good first impression.

'Hey, hey, hey!' he shouted, as he managed to get hold of her hands and put them behind her back. The woman eyed him, but stopped struggling, as if she had understood that that battle was lost.

'Who are you? Where am I?' she spat at Dean, green eyes looking around, as if she was some sort of a trapped animal.

'There, now.' Dean said, trying to hold her down. 'You put that knife down, and I'll let you go, ok? Then we're going to tell you all you need to know.' The hunter looked down at the knife and immediately recognized the archangel killing blade. Damn, this chick wasn't joking.

After some more intense staring, she finally dropped the blade down and Dean slowly let go of her hands. Carefully, the woman sat down on the bed, her eyes, staring in a similar way Castiel's did, didn't even blink.

'Okay, now.' Sam said with his calming voice. 'We're not going to hurt you, you just kinda – '

'Freaked us out.' His brother added.

'Yeah. You kinda … crashed in front of our motel.'

'You saw that?' she couldn't hide her confusion. 'And you still have eyes?'

The brothers looked at each other, before Sam continued.

'We … thought it would be best if we took you to our room, before anyone would start asking questions.'

Her critical stare was still jumping from the one Winchester to the other. Dean felt as if he was being X-Rayed.

'So … 'Sam tried to break the awkward silence 'why don't you tell us your name?'

The woman's eyes locked on him, as if she was trying to tell if he was reliable enough. Sam did his best to keep his mind closed for her. He knew that she could read it easily, and if a furious angel found out that he was Lucifer's true vessel that would turn pretty ugly.

'Esther.'

'Okay, Esther.' Sam continued speaking in the same manner. Dean thought that, sooner or later, their angel friend would freak out, because his brother was talking to her like a retard. 'I'm Sam. This is my brother, Dean.'

It was then, when they finally managed to receive some reaction from her side. Esther turned her head so quickly, that Dean was sure that if she was human, her neck would have snapped.

'Dean. Dean Winchester?'

The hunter just nodded, still eyeing the blade beside her with confusion.

'Michael's vessel.'

He froze, staring at her, so did his brother. They hadn't expected her to know about that. After all, Cas had said she had been in something like the Heaven's asylum for the past century, so the hunters thought that she wouldn't exactly be up-to-date with the latest angel radio news.

'And you' She turned her stare back at Sam, he twitched. 'Lucifer's vessel.'

'How do you –'

'I'm an angel of the Lord.' She said blatantly, reminding Dean way too much of his first encountering with angels.

'Yeah, we kinda got that.' He grunted 'But who told you that we are –'

The hunter was interrupted by the motel door opening and a familiar figure with a trench coat stepping inside the room. Castiel stared at Esther for a moment, before finally managing to say anything.

'Hello, Esther.'

Then too many things happened at once.

With a low grunt in her throat and before any one of them could react, Esther grabbed her archangel killing blade. The next second, she was next to Cas and had him pinned against the wall, the knife put at his throat. The former angel struggled for breath.

'Cas!' Dean shouted, but as soon he rushed to help his friend, he was pinned against a wall. Sam followed the same fate, after trying to reach Esther from behind. Castiel's eyes widened. Esther had more Grace left in her than him. She was more powerful than him.

And in her eyes, now crossed with his, glowed nothing but pure hatred.

'Hello, Castiel.'


End file.
